“Silence of the Lambs” director Jonathan Demme does not approve of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, and he’s not worried about being labeled anti-Semitic.

“I know that I am not anti-Semitic. I believe passionately that Palestine deserves statehood and there is a two-state solution,” the Oscar-winning director said during an interview (above) on Huffington Post Live. “I just don’t see how you justify this horrendous use of force.”

Israel launched a ground invasion of the Palestinian region last Thursday after 10 days of bombings in response to Hamas militants shooting missiles into Israeli cities. Over 600 have died in the conflict so far.

“I think more than anything, first and foremost, all of these innocent children being killed. It makes me think about — please withdraw the settlements; please tear down the wall; please let’s work for peace,” Demme said. “Every new iteration of the violence that comes up feels like you’re starting all over again and I just can’t imagine how unbearable it must be to be a Palestinian living in Gaza being invaded like this and seeing the children of your community lying dead in the sand.”

“I also don’t approve of drone strikes and this whole idea of acceptable risk,” Demme added. “We accept the risk that we’ll kill some civilians but we’re going to get our target so it’s OK. I don’t buy that.”